Justin Townsend, a 2020 Tony winner for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Moulin Rouge! The Musical, is currently nominated in that same category for the 78th Annual Tony Awards for his work on Death Becomes Her.
Death Becomes Her, the new musical based on the film comedy of the same name, picked up 10 Tony nominations May 1, tying with Buena Vista Social Club and Maybe Happy Ending as the most Tony-nominated productions of the season. Directed by 2025 Tony nominee Christopher Gattelli, the musical co-stars fellow 2025 Tony nominees Jennifer Simard and Megan Hilty as two rivals who go to extreme lengths for never-ending beauty.
It's been a busy Broadway season for Obie winner Townsend, whose work also lit up the Sutton Foster-led Once Upon a Mattress this past fall and can currently be seen at Circle in the Square Theatre in the Bobby Darin biomusical Just in Time, starring Jonathan Groff.
Townsend was previously Tony-nominated for Best Lighting Design of a Musical in 2020 for Jagged Little Pill and in 2016 for American Psycho. He also picked up a Best Lighting Design of a Play Tony nomination in 2016 for Stephen Karam's The Humans.
His other Broadway lighting design credits include Here Lives Love, The Nap, Saint Joan, The Little Foxes, Present Laughter, Fool for Love, Casa Valentina, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Other Place, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Reckless, and The Violet Hour, and he designed both the lighting and scenery for A Night With Janis Joplin.
In the interview below for the 半岛体育 series How Did I Get Here鈥攕potlighting not only actors, but directors, designers, musicians, and others who work on and off the stage to create the magic that is live theatre鈥擳ownsend discusses why his favorite aspect of his job is working with performers and why his go-to advice is "stay dangerous."
Where did you train/study?
Justin Townsend: I
studied theatre and fine art at UMass Amherst with Penny Remsen and
Miguel Romero. After working in the city for four years, I met the
brilliant Chris Akerlind and went to CalArts to study with him, Chris
Barreca, Erik Ehn, Mona Heinze.
Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?
I鈥檓
so lucky to have so many great professors鈥擨鈥檓 only here because of
their gifts and insight. Penny Remsen, who is retiring this year and
also taught Ben Stanton, taught me about working hard and being an
insightful lead artist.
What were some of the challenges of designing the lights for the stage adaptation of Death Becomes Her?
Part
of the joy of my job is lighting Derek McLane鈥檚 stunning scenery, but
because there is so much of it, there is a constant negotiation of
where the lights can go to light that scenery. Derek and his team are
excellent collaborators, and we spend hours lining the deck with
perfectly placed footlights, carving in neon and other delicious
lighting surprises into the scenery itself. My hope is that we never
sense what is lighting and what is scenery.
Lighting-wise, is there one moment or scene in Death Becomes Her that you are particularly proud of? Why is that moment a standout?
Wow!
So many moments, but one special one for me is in the end of the chase
scene in Act 2 as the music has been building and Ernest has been
running through the sea of bodies trying to escape Viola; the company
marches downstage, and suddenly they arrive downstage, the key changes,
and the light goes solid red! It鈥檚 the only use of red in the show, and
there is such a delicious pop of energy in that moment.
It's been a busy season for you on Broadway, having also designed the lighting for Just in Time. How did you go about designing for such an immersive production?
What an amazing season! I also had a chance to light Once Upon a Mattress with Lear deBessonet, a new dance piece with Twyla Tharp called Slacktide, and Encores! Urinetown.
Just in Time
is a very special production that fills Circle in the Square with
energy. Here again, I had the joyous pleasure of working with Derek
McLane, and we packed light boxes, chandeliers, footlights, neon, light
bulbs鈥� everywhere! Jonathan Groff鈥檚 once-in-a lifetime performance
completely transforms the room, and my hope is to have the lighting match
it. Having an audience on three sides means that we need three times
as many lights to carve and shape the actors, and I worked to make a very
specific journey through Bobby Darin鈥檚 life on a bandstand set. I
like to think architecturally about lighting: How do lighting rows and
shapes make energy in the air around the actors? The performances here
are truly breathtaking鈥攁nd my hope is to support and lift them. There
is a lyric at the end of the show: "To soar like an eagle as if I had
wings!" And in that moment, l try to lift Groff up, pushing him with
gold brilliance and giving him wings of light that fly out into the
audience.
Working with these amazing performers鈥擬egan Hilty, Jennifer Simard, Jonathan Groff, Sutton Foster, Michael Urie鈥攎y hope is to always start with their genius and support them and what they are up to. One of my favorite things to do in the world is to collaborate with performers in the theatre.
If you could leave one design from any show in a time capsule as representative of your work, which would you choose?
I鈥檓 so proud of all my work鈥擬oulin Rouge!, The Humans, American Psycho, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson鈥�I feel like each year I grow and learn more and meet more amazing
people to work with. One of the great joys recently has been in
expanding my team of top professionals, Nick Solyom, Brad Gray, Jeremy
Wahlers. These are the leaders and people who help make my designs
possible. I鈥檓 so very proud of Death Becomes Her and the
precision and laughter and joy it brings to the world. I love working
on these giant blockbuster musicals. I鈥檝e never made anything so
intricate, funny, and bold.
What do you consider your big break?
Alex Timbers called me to light a show at the old Ohio Theater in Soho called Dance Dance Revolution.
He had somehow convinced 70 dancers, the best Off-Broadway
comedian/actors to make a completely revolutionary production. I loaded
up my trunk full of lighting that I had bought at Home Depot and custom
made something that I鈥檓 still very proud of. It was a key moment. He
had just seen my work with Lear deBessonet at Walker Space and took a
risk on me. We all came up together in a very special moment. A lot of
those design themes, speed, detail, and set electrics went on to drive
the visual vocabulary and style of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and then Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
What is the most memorable day job you ever had?
When
I couldn鈥檛 make any money for a few weeks, I temp鈥檇 at Lanc么me and
cleaned out the closets full of make-up. There, I was dressed up in my
suit trying to fit in while organizing things that I had never heard
about. I was so aware that someone else would want to be around all of
that product, but I had no idea what it all was! I would fill out forms
with the name of lipstick, press the lipstick next to the name, and then
color photocopy it.
Is there a person or people you most respect in your field and why?
My
new friend [designer] John Conklin. I鈥檝e known him for years through reputation
for his spirit, joy, and being a creature of the theatre. Recently I鈥檝e
had the opportunity to begin a friendship with him, and I value it
deeply. His knowledge, playfulness, and lifelong experience in the
theatre makes him someone I revere.
What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
Stay dangerous. Set designer Doug Stein shared that idea with me, and I
repeat it often. When we鈥檙e starting, we have to stay nimble and ready鈥攚e have to do our best to be ready to pivot and make any opportunity
work. Careful of debt, expenses, leases, relationships that don鈥檛
support our dreams and efforts鈥攊t鈥檚 not an easy field and requires, in
my experience, a dedicated effort.
What is your proudest achievement as a designer?
Being
a part of my family. I鈥檓 so grateful and proud that my design work has
provided the finances to help support and be present for a family. It
has never been easy, and I certainly have messed up a great deal, but I鈥檓
proud of the hard work of trying to balance being a creative and engaged
artist as well as showing up for my family.
Company of Death Becomes Her
Taurean Everett and cast of Death Becomes Her
Michelle Williams, Megan Hilty, and cast of Death Becomes Her
Michelle Williams and cast of Death Becomes Her
Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard, Josh Lamon, and Christopher Sieber in Death Becomes Her
Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard in Death Becomes Her
Megan Hilty and cast of Death Becomes Her
Jennifer Simard, Megan Hilty, and Christopher Sieber in Death Becomes Her
Jennifer Simard, Megan Hilty, Christopher Sieber, and cast of Death Becomes Her
Christopher Sieber in Death Becomes Her
Jennifer Simard and Christopher Sieber in Death Becomes Her
